Our Wander Years

TP1 Day 1: Embarkation in Seattle WA

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Sparky

We have boarded the Carnival Luminosa. It leaves in about 4 hours, destination Brisbane, Australia by way of Japan, Okinawa, Philippines and Indonesia. It was also supposed to have 2 ports in Alaska but we were informed at check-in that they were being cancelled due to impending bad weather. Disappointing as Alaska is the only state that I have never set foot in and was expecting to check that off my bucket list. *sigh* Two ports in Japan are being added, but this means that we start the journey with 8 days at sea. Good thing we like sea days.

We drove to Seattle yesterday and stayed overnight at the Travelodge by the Space Needle. This hotel is in a good location – close to downtown and the cruise terminal – and the staff was efficient and friendly. But I can’t recommend it. All of the ice machines were broken (but at least the desk provided a bucket of ice, free of charge, unlike the Travelodge in Barcelona) and the shower water was lukewarm. Not a great hotel, but it was just one night.

We got to Seattle by driving up from Tillamook. That is a nice drive up the coast to Astoria. I was planning on driving the coast of Washington, too, but ran short of time (I had to return the car by 5pm). But it was a nice day and we got some nice photos.

Marlene and I went out for a walk around Seattle after we settled in. We ended up a Pike Place Market but enjoyed many of the views downtown. Seattle is a modern and very clean city. Lots of high-rise residential buildings. People seem to want to live downtown. Can’t blame them – it is a beautiful city.

We didn’t go up the Space Needle or do much of anything other than walk around. Next time.

I didn’t buy the internet package. My plan is to buy 24-hour access about every third day. So my blog posts will be sporadic. Please be patient.

Categories: Hotels, OR, TP1, WA | Leave a comment

3 nights, 2 days in Tillamook OR

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Sparky

The TP1 is about to begin. But it starts in Seattle which is on the left coast, far from Fort Myers. So to position us for embarkation, I decided Marlene and I should spend a few days in Tillamook OR with my sister and her family.

The trip started with a flight to Dallas, then another to Portland, then renting a car and driving 90 minutes. It all went pretty well (with the exception of a very rough landing in Dallas – I think the plane actually bounced off the runway) with the flights being on time (a minor miracle nowadays) and relatively smooth. The walk from the gate to the baggage claim to the car rental was about a mile but the car rental process was a breeze and the weather was dry. We arrived around 11:30pm PST which was 2:30am body time. But we weren’t fatigued – we stayed up another hour to chat with my sister (I think she was more tired than we were). When we finally went to bed my body insisted on waking up at 3:30am (6:30am body time). I went back to bed but slept fitfully until 6:30am PST.

We spent most of the first day touring the Oregon coast by ourselves. We drove south to Pacific City, had lunch at the Pelican Brewery (delicious fish and chip), then spent some time at Cape Meares.

The second day we traveled to the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City OR. I won 4 cents; Marlene lost more than 4 cents. She called it the “worst casino ever” though I suspect she would have had a different opinion if she had won a bunch. We then had lunch with my sister, Lois, her husband, Chris, and her son, Michael. Wonderful lunch, as always, at the Blue Heron. Then we visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory, took the self-guided tour (really interesting!) and had some ice cream. We then topped the day off with a pint of craft beer at the Pelican Brewery in Tillamook (where they actually make the beer).

Many thanks to Lois and Chris to providing accommodations for three nights. And some wonderful meals.

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“The Innocent” by Harlan Coben

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Sparky

This is the 8th book by Harlan Coben that I have reviewed here. I think I may have read this book before, many years ago, as it seems familiar. But I didn’t review it then so I will do so now.

The story begins with the conviction and incarceration of a young man, Matt Hunter, who tried to break up a brawl but got tangled up with another young man who suffocated. Accident? The jury felt it was manslaughter. Hunter became a convicted felon rather than a promising college graduate.

Fast forward. Hunter is released and finds a woman, Olivia, that accepts his past. They marry and she becomes pregnant. They are planning on buying a house in Matt’s childhood town, Livingston NJ. Life is good. Until he gets a video, from Olivia, in which she is dressed like a prostitute in a hotel room with another man. While she is supposedly on a “business trip.” The good life for Matt is suddenly not so good.

Meanwhile, a nun in NJ dies. Her death is initially treated as natural but the Mother Superior is suspicious as she learned that the nun had breast implants. Not many nuns have breast implants. What is her story? And how is her death related to Matt and Olivia Hunter?

A good question. Some other deaths follow the nun’s death and the detective has good reason to believe that Matt Hunter is the killer. But we, the readers, know that he is The Innocent (hence the title). The book is all about finding out how these deaths are related and how Matt can prove his innocence.

There are some good plot twists at the end which help tie up all the loose ends. This is a well-crafted mystery, which is true of every Coben book I have read.

8 out of 10.

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TS9 wrapup

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Sparky

The TS9 is in the books. It was my first road trip with Marlene and it went well. It was an auto trip rather than an RV trip, without pets, so it was simpler than most of my trips. It was 8 nights (down from the planned 9 nights due to cutting a day out of Charlotte) and 4 of those nights were guests of family, so only 4 nights were spent in hotels.

By the numbers:

9 days, 8 nights, 5 hops, 1,790 route miles (358 miles per hop).
75 extra miles, mostly in the New York City area.
53.5 gallons of fuel consumed in 1,865 miles (35.0 miles per gallon).
Total fuel cost: $187.33 ($3.50 per gallon).
Total hotel cost: $666.42 ($166.61 per night).

Highlights:

Seeing New York City through the eyes of a woman who has never been there.
Meeting Marlene’s son and his family in GA.
Seeing Jett’s sons and their families in VA.
Winning $96 at the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa.

Lowlights:

Going to the wrong hotel in Charlotte. I still don’t know how I could have made that mistake.

Planned and actual routes:

The only significant changes were on Hop 1 (going over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge instead of a mor direct, inexpensive route) and Hop 3 (doing Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park instead of a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway further south).

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TS9 Hop 5: Acworth GA to Lehigh Acres FL

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Sparky

633 miles via GA 92, I-75 and FL 80 with two refueling stops, a bio break and 3 hours at the Hard Rock Casino and nearby Waffle House in Tampa. Miles since the end of Hop 4: 643. Cumulative route miles: 1,790. Total TS9 miles: 1,865. The extra hop miles were due to a final refueling at the end of the trip.

This was an easy trip on familiar roads. I won $96 at the casino, but Marlene lost about that much, so call it “free entertainment.” But it was a VERY long day: 14 hours door-to-door. We got home at midnight.

We stayed for two nights in Acworth with Marlene’s son, Tim, and wife Rachel. It was a quiet, family time.

This ends the TS9. Wrapup soon.

Categories: Family, FL, GA, Routes, TS9 | Leave a comment

TS9 Hop 4: Concord NC to Acworth GA

Posted on September 6, 2023 by Sparky

286 miles via I-85, I-285 (north of Atlanta), I-75 and GA 92. Miles since the end of Hop 3: 297. Cumulative route miles: 1,157. Total TS9 miles: 1,222. The extra miles were due to a couple of shopping trips in Concord.

This was an easy hop almost exclusively on interstate highways. We had one bio break but no refueling or sightseeing stops. Pretty simple trip in good weather. The traffic near Atlanta, at rush hour, was heavy, but tolerable.

Our home in Concord NC was the Hampton Inn. The room was very nice and breakfast (good, not great) was included. Not a bad place. But our intention was to stay for two nights and we decided, around 1pm, to cut it to one day. The hotel agreed to refund the second night if we were out by 1:30 so we quickly packed and left. And forgot to take the USB battery pack (about $30, needed for the upcoming cruise). We are hoping to recover it but will probably have to buy another to take with us on the cruise. The cost of haste.

Categories: GA, Hotels, NC, Routes, SC, TS9 | Leave a comment

TS9 Hop 3: Montclair VA to Concord NC

Posted on September 6, 2023 by Sparky

394 miles via VA 234, I-66, US 522, US 340, Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, VA 239, US 29, I-85 and about 10 miles on back roads when I missed a turn near Lynchburg VA. We took one bio break midway and a brief stop to look at some local crafts. Miles since the end of Hop 2: 394. Cumulative route miles: 871. Total TS9 miles: 925. There were no extra miles on this hop as Devin chauffeured us everywhere.

This was a very long hop, timewise: about 9 hours door-to-door. This was due primarily to my desire to drive a stretch of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. This served two purposes: it allowed Marlene to say that she had visited a national park (she says she had never been to one) and I got to use my National Parks Senior Pass that I had to replace (for $80) after I lost it in Madrid. We did about 30 miles of the 105 miles on the drive. It is nice, with some very pleasant vistas, but no WOW! views like you get at some of the western parks.

This hop was a bit embarrassing. For reasons that elude me, I was convinced that our destination was the Hampton Inn. When we got there they did not have a reservation for us. I searched my laptop and could not find a confirmation. Fortunately, they had rooms available, and I was able to get one for a good rate. But once we got into the room I found the confirmation – for the Wingate Hotel in Concord. I quickly got online and was able to cancel that reservation without any penalty. But how did I get the destination wrong? No excuse – I had the Wingate in my itinerary spreadsheet. Chalk it up to “senior moment.” Embarrassing, for sure.

The missed turn near Lynchburg was caused by me being completely engrossed in the audiobook (“The Fifth Witness” by Michael Connelly – I will report on that when we finish it). This led to some annoying back-seat driving by Marlene, so I pulled over and challenged her to take the wheel. She did. So I got to rest in the passenger seat for the final two hours of the hop. This was a good opportunity for her to get familiar with the Corolla as I will need her to drive for a few hours on the last grueling leg of the TS9.

Categories: Adventures, NC, Routes, TS9, VA | Leave a comment

A day in Montclair VA

Posted on September 4, 2023 by Sparky

Marlene and I had one full day in Montclair VA and we chose to spend much of it on two activities: browsing historic Occoquan VA and dining at the Harbour Grille in Woodbridge VA.

Occoquan is situated on the southern bank of the Occoquan River. It is an old mill town, site of the first automated grist mill in America. It is now home to a variety of cute shops. I tagged along, mostly, while Marlene, Mary and Maddy (the grand-niece of the neighbor) shopped. I bought them all some delicious lemonade when they tired. I got some nice photos of the river.

Dinner was good. We were joined by Josh (Jett’s other son) and Cristina, fresh in from a bike ride to West Virginia. I had blackened alfredo with chicken and a refreshing glass of sangria.

Categories: Adventures, Family, Food, TS9, VA | Leave a comment

TS9 Hop 2: Newark NJ to Montclair VA

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Sparky

275 miles via I-78, Garden State Parkway, US 1, I-95, US 1 again, local streets to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, I-95 again, DE 896, US 301, US 50, I-495 (around Washington DC), I-95 again, VA 234 and local streets. Miles since the end of Hop 1: 329. Cumulative route miles: 477. Total TS9 miles: 531. The extra miles were due to our trips to Liberty State Park (to get the ferry), to Staten Island (to get the ferry) and some short shopping trips.

We had a lunch break in Morrisville PA, an interim stop at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, a refueling stop south of Philadelphia and a bio break when we entered MD on US 301. With all these stops and with much of the route being on back roads in DE, this was 8 hours from start to finish.

The lunch stop was interesting. We stopped initially at an Italian restaurant but Marlene really wanted breakfast rather than spaghetti so we moved down two blocks to the Bird’s Nest where breaksfast is served all day. It didn’t look like much (it is, in fact, a converted bar) but the food – scrambled eggs and bacon for me and an omelet for Marlene – was terrific. The staff and patrons were friendly. A very fine lunch/breakfast stop.

Independence Hall, on the other hand, was a disappointment. Tickets were needed to tour the hall and none were available. Viewing the Liberty Bell was free, but the line was over 30 minutes long. The hall where Congress met until the capitol building in Washington was finished was also free but the line there was also too long (I had limited our stay to 30 minutes because the parking was very expensive – $12 per hour – and we wanted to reach VA before dinner). So we just walked the grounds and looked at a few of the exhibits in the Visitors Center. Perhaps the most interesting thing we saw was the excavation of the slave quarters where George Washington housed his 9 slaves while he was President. I was not aware that our first president had slaves while in office.

To make the visit just a bit more miserable, I lost my parking ticket. I had to go to the parking office and plead my case to pay just $12 instead of the $27 lost ticket charge.

The refueling stop was also a bit unpleasant as I paid $3.95/gallon – the highest price I have encountered on either the TN9 or TS9. I got just 5 gallons. It was particularly painful as I had seen gas selling for under $3.40 in NJ.

When we finally arrived at our destination – Jett’s son and daughter-on-law, Devin and Mary, we went out to dinner at El Paso Mexican Grill in Dumfries VA. Very good and the custom artwork was very interesting.

A full day.

Our home for 3 nights in NJ was the Howard Johnson Hotel at the Newark Airport. This is a relatively inexpensive hotel for the area. And it is right on the flight path for a very busy airport. But we heard no noise and the room was recently renovated and very nice. Much better than expected. And it had a small restaurant that served up very good, reasonably priced breakfasts. It was also convenient to both the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Staten Island. This was a very good choice for our stay in New Jersey.

Categories: Adventures, DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, Routes, TS9, VA | Leave a comment

A day in New York

Posted on September 2, 2023 by Sparky

Marlene and I spent Friday in New York City. We experienced the Staten Island Ferry, Trinity Church, the 9-11 Memorial (just the memorial – we didn’t go into the museum), Wall Street, the South Street Seaport, the Brooklyn Bridge (which we walked over), the New York subway system, Times Square, Central Park (just a view) and Fifth Avenue. Whew! We logged over 21,000 steps – probably over 10 miles on foot. Everything was novel to Marlene. The 9-11 Memorial was new to me (it was a hole in the ground when I last visited in 2002), as was the Staten Island Ferry and the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Even the things I had seen before were very different than I recalled, so it was all pretty new to me, too.

The choice of the Staten Island Ferry was not because it was the cheapest or fastest way to get into Manhattan from Newark – that probably would have been the PATH train to Penn Station. But I really wanted to experience the ferry. The idea that a 30-minute ferry ride on a $200 million vessel could be completely free just boggled my mind. It didn’t disappoint. The ferry was HUGE – a passenger capacity in excess of 5.000.

The walk on the Brooklyn Bridge was also a surprise. I had no idea that so many people walked this bridge. It was crowded and the entire route – well over a mile – was lined with vendors. Some of the art in the subway was also a pleasant surprise as my memory of the MTA was dark, drab and dirty.

All-in-all, a very good sightseeing day – our 4th in a row. A travel day will be a pleasant respite.